Strengths that Limit our Lives

A Stronghold is Anything People Trust Other Than God | Devotional

Trust is the expression of faith. And whenever people put their trust in something other than God, the enemy of our souls sees it as a place of legal access to deepen the deception.

His goal is to inhabit it and make it a stronghold. The powers of darkness are attracted to misplaced trust. They do not really care where trust is placed, as long as it is not in God.

That is why Paul said, “Don’t give place to the devil.” It is possible for a believer to give the devil the place reserved for God alone.

The book of Proverbs gives us an interesting picture that illustrates this truth: “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust” (Proverbs 21:22).

The key phrase is stronghold in which they trust. If you can see where people have put their trust other than God, you will find the stronghold that must be brought down.

Wisdom enables us to bring down the strongholds over cities once they have been removed from our own lives.

Jesus modeled a strict lifestyle for those wanting to be His disciples. Their approach to family, money, relationships, occupations and the like was different from the approach of the world around them. Some think mistakenly that Jesus taught poverty as a lifestyle. That simply is not true.

The disciples had to go without in order to learn how to steward correctly what God would provide for them.

Their journey was much like the children of Israel’s journey in the wilderness. They went without in order to learn how to manage the land of promises they were about to inherit.

Before Jesus left the earth, He urged them to take the money belts with them that they were forbidden to take at the beginning. It was never about money; it was about trust.

The challenge for us is not whether or not we should have money; the challenge is where we are going to put our trust in spite of how little or how much we have. How much is too much money?

Whatever amount replaces trust. For one person, it is little. For another, it is a lot.

Anything that earns our trust, besides God, attracts the demonic. The devil considers all misplaced trust as devil worship, for he hides himself in its shadows.

Faith also attracts. But instead of empowering darkness, we become like lightning rods that attract the activities of God into our surroundings.

Even the angels are compelled to fill such an atmosphere, for they have been assigned to “render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). They are fascinated with our trust in our Redeemer because it is a position they will never have.

Trusting in God is a privilege. It is worth every effort we make to expose ourselves to and memorize the promises of God for our lives. I had a dear friend named Dick Mills, who is now home with the Lord.

He memorized 7,700 promises in the Bible, in various translations. He was a joy to be around, for he always had a promise from God for any problem or challenge. He brought encouragement to countless thousands of people through his years of faithful service to the Lord.

This should be the normal lifestyle for the believer. For this is really the lifestyle of one abiding in Christ—always mindful of His presence and His Word, burning with God’s promise for every situation. This is the atmosphere of heaven that is becoming the atmosphere on earth.

Prayer

Father, please help me never to give place to the devil by trusting in anything that is in conflict with Your heart for me. I know You are fully trustworthy.

Help me to see the promises that You placed in Your Word just for me. I do not want to think according to my limitations, but according to Your promises.

Let me be one who is possessed by Your promises, bringing hope to everyone around me, regardless of the circumstances.

Confession

I choose to meditate on God’s promises for me. I cannot afford to have a thought in my mind that is not in His.

So today I declare that my trust is in God alone, as He has already prepared everything necessary for me to be successful in this challenge.